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alexinho10's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
grvhppr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
5.0
“Your suns and worlds are not within my ken,
I merely watch the plaguey state of men.
The little god of earth remains the same queer sprite
As on the first day, or in primal light.
His life would be less difficult, poor thing,
Without your gift of heavenly glimmering;
He calls it Reason, using light celestial
Just to outdo the beasts in being bestial.
To me he seems, with deference to Your Grace,
One of those crickets, jumping round the place,
Who takes his flying leaps, with legs so long,
Then falls to grass and chants the same old song;
But, not content with grasses to repose in,
This one will hunt for muck to stick his nose in.”
It is a retelling of a an old legend in two parts. You just can't help but enjoy every bit of this book. Goethe puts in everything - God, angels, devils, witches, ghosts, first love, murder etc.
There is a certain dissatisfaction which a lot of learning brings to a mind - people start troubling themselves over questions they can do with out. Curiosity is good, but it can often go blind and start searching for non-existent perfection of knowledge. Faust is full of this dissatisfaction - and to think of it, he could have killed himself for being intellectually unsatisfied. Goethe makes heavy criticism of such blind intellectual hunger.
I thought it would be boring but is humorous, witty and a sort of page turner.
P.S. Mephistopheles is now one of my favourite characters.
I merely watch the plaguey state of men.
The little god of earth remains the same queer sprite
As on the first day, or in primal light.
His life would be less difficult, poor thing,
Without your gift of heavenly glimmering;
He calls it Reason, using light celestial
Just to outdo the beasts in being bestial.
To me he seems, with deference to Your Grace,
One of those crickets, jumping round the place,
Who takes his flying leaps, with legs so long,
Then falls to grass and chants the same old song;
But, not content with grasses to repose in,
This one will hunt for muck to stick his nose in.”
It is a retelling of a an old legend in two parts. You just can't help but enjoy every bit of this book. Goethe puts in everything - God, angels, devils, witches, ghosts, first love, murder etc.
There is a certain dissatisfaction which a lot of learning brings to a mind - people start troubling themselves over questions they can do with out. Curiosity is good, but it can often go blind and start searching for non-existent perfection of knowledge. Faust is full of this dissatisfaction - and to think of it, he could have killed himself for being intellectually unsatisfied. Goethe makes heavy criticism of such blind intellectual hunger.
I thought it would be boring but is humorous, witty and a sort of page turner.
P.S. Mephistopheles is now one of my favourite characters.
amber_tke's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
kim_gzt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. Is was quite entertaining even if the plot had really weird filling scenes which I thought were unnecessary.
poetsf1lm's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What did we learn? Do not make contracts with the fucking devil.
li11y's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
morriganmay's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tacanderson's review against another edition
4.0
I read the Norton's Critical Edition and the commentary and accompanying essays were critical to understanding this play - even as someone who was already familiar with Marlowe's Faustus. This is a much more substantial play (for good and bad) than Marlowe's.